6th Annual Hunger Conference June 7, 2000 Holiday Inn Lansing (West) Conference Center Registration Deadline: June 1, 2000 Registration Fee: $10 Sponsored by: Food Bank Council of Michigan

Conference Schedule
Lunch/Keynote
Location
Registration

  8:00 - 9:00         Registration and refreshments
  9:00 - 9:45         Imagine Michigan without Hunger
10:00 - 11:15       Workshop I
11:30 - 12:45       Workshop II
12:45 - 2.00         Lunch and Special Guest Art Simon
  2:15 - 3:30         Workshop III
 

Where's your place at the table?

Hunger is more than just food. There is an entire food system that is in place that determines who, how and where we get the food we eat. Join us and learn where you and your organization fits at the table. This year's conference provides three tracks of workshops aimed to meet the needs of a wide array of folks interested in specific and board aspects of food security. Tracks focus on 1) emergency food, 2) community food security and 3) individual empowerment.

9:00 to 9:45    Imagine Michigan without Hunger

What would our state look like if there were no hunger or need for food assistance programs? This welcome session is designed to open our minds, dream, describe our personal visions and ideals about ending hunger. With the assistance of enthusiastic and artistic facilitators, we will create a picture of a hunger free Michigan that we can use as a planning and organizing tool at the state and local level.

10:00 - 11:15  Workshop I - Choose One

• Special Events and Marketing

A never ending issue for emergency food providers and small non-profit organizations is funding. How do we raise money? This session will give you specific special event models for raising cash, designed for small volunteer food pantries. The workshop will focus on how to market your organization and special event so it has long-lasting impact. Learn how to garner continued support and to raise awareness and support from donors. Special events help to get individuals to make an investment in your organization.

• Innovative Program Models for Individual Empowerment

This workshop will explore several strategic models for individual empowerment. Included are: asset building through individual development accounts (IDAs), Community Organizing, Job Training and Placement programs and personal life skills training.

Using new mapping technology, participants will learn how to map their local food system and identify all their community's food resources, assets, gaps and partners. Use this tool to help plan a more food secure local community.

The welfare simulation experience and role play is designed to help participants begin to understand what it might be like to live in a low-income family, trying to survive from month to month. Participants are assigned a family role and are challenged to provide for their basic necessities during the course of four 15 minute "weeks". A debriefing period follows allowing participants to share their reactions and experiences. This is a powerful learning experience!

• What's your Food Safety I.Q.?

Are you aware of food safety risks in the kitchen or your food pantry? Experts from MSU Extension will lead this interactive session focusing on food handling, sanitation, storage and evaluating the safety of food donations.

Many people are hungry because they do not know about or are denied help through the public food and assistance programs for which they may be eligible. Emergency Food providers, human service organizations and food security advocates can help empower clients with accurate information and strategies for action. Learn to identify clients who may not be receiving all the help available and the steps that they or you can take to correct the situation. Facilitated by the Center for Civil Justice.

This panel presentation about community food security explores models that move beyond emergency relief to link various partners in the food system to insure equity and access to good food for all. These community planning and development models include: linking limited-resource farmers with low-income communities, community supported agriculture, revitalizing neighborhoods with grocery stores and farmers markets, using federal food programs to support both local agriculture and the hungry.

The welfare simulation experience and role play is designed to help participants begin to understand what it might be like to live in a low-income family, trying to survive from month to month. Participants are assigned to a family role and are challenged to provide for their basic necessities during the course of four 15 minute "weeks". A debriefing period follows allowing participants to share their reactions and experiences. Past participants have found it to be a moving and powerful learning experience. Please reserve a space for the poverty simulation sessions in advance on registration form. Seats are limited.
 

Holiday Inn Lansing (West) Conference Center 7501 W Saginaw Highway 1-517-627-3211

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12:45 - 2:00
 

Art Simon founded Bread for the World in 1974. As a pastor of a Lutheran church on the lower east side of New York City, he was struck by the magnitude of hunger and poverty in his community and around the world. He decided to launch a citizens movement against it. Simon built Bread for the World into an effective movement of 44,000 members. Art joins us to share insights that brought about his recent publication "Grace at the Table".

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• Special Events and Marketing (See morning workshop description)

• Optimizing Existing Food Programs Video Premiere
  

Be one of the first to "premiere" the showing of a new information and referral resource. This 15 minute video is an informative and convenient resource to emergency food providers, caseworkers, outreach workers and other service providers who need to know about food programs available to hungry people in our state, and there are lots of them! What programs are designed for children? Seniors? Families? Where do we go to get them? Be the first to view this video so you are more knowledgeable about resources for your cusomters. Copies of the video and popcorn will be available in the workshop.

Learn about the statewide "A Place at the Table" hunger awareness campaign culminating on World Food Day, 2000 and how you can participate. Receive materials to help you promote your local event and connect with simultaneous events around the state. This campaign is designed to support local efforts and hold before our state a vision of a hunger-free Michigan.

Spend some time with keynote Art Simon exploring more of the spirituality and vision that energizes his anti-hunger efforts. Learn also about Bread for the World's current work on federal legislation and international debt relief.

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	Name____________________________________________________________
	Work Phone (___)___________________ Home Phone(___)________________
	Address__________________________________________________________
	City______________________________________ State_____ Zip___________
	Organization_______________________________________________________

Yes, I wish to participate in the poverty simulation.

Volunteer   Staff   Other____________________________   Vegetarian Meal Requested
 
 

RETURN REGISTRATION AND $10 MATERIALS FEE NO LATER THAN JUNE 1, 2000  To: Food Bank Council of Michigan, 501 North Walnut Street, Lansing, MI 48933  For scholarship information, contact the Food Bank Council of Michigan at 1-800-552-4483  Food Bank Council of Michigan  501 North Walnut Street  Lansing, MI 48933